Tired of all those lists that talk about “Movies that you didn’t know took place on Christmas!” despite the fact Christmas actually does figure heavily into the plot (Die Hard not only takes place during an office Christmas Party, there’s also numerous direct dialog references to Christmas) I’m curious of what are movies that take place on or around Christmas but all of the references have nothing to do with the actual plot or setting. As in, the Christmas stuff is either “Blink and you’ll miss it” or it’s so very minor you can actually forget about it. Basically if you Ctrl+F the Wikipedia detailed plot synopsis and “Christmas” or “Holiday” don’t appear, the movie counts as part of this list.
Cobra
All the Christmas references are buried into the background, as you’ll occasional see a mall Santa in the background of a scene or holiday decorations but they’re never the focus of any shot. The most blatant reference to Christmas is when Sylvester Stallone’s character is channel hopping and passes a Toys R Us Christmas commercial briefly.
Oh Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Yes, there is a James Bond Christmas movie. There’s a very brief scene in the middle of the movie where a group of women open presents around a Christmas tree and a Christmas song specifically made for the film plays in the background but Bond doesn’t take part and despite the winter setting in the Swiss Alps it’s never mentioned again.
Blink and you really will miss it. At the beginning of the movie it pops up “Friday, December 11th” on the screen. As Marion Crane drives through the city you see a few Christmas decorations on the streets of Phoenix. After that Christmas isn’t mentioned or referenced at all during the rest of the movie.
IIRC after Hitchcock had wrapped up filming some editor noticed the Xmas decorations that appeared in a few shots. So they put in the Dec. 11th date rather than reshoot those scenes.
Most of the third act of When Harry Met Sally is set during the Christmas season, with the final scene taking place on New Year’s Eve.
Different holiday: Planes, Trains & Automobiles is technically a Thanksgiving movie, since Neal’s trying to get home for Thanksgiving dinner with his family. However, the actual holiday is meaningless to the plot – Neal could’ve been traveling home for any old reason.
On Christmas Eve in Greenwich Village, a beautiful witch (Kim Novak) asks her familiar (Pyewacket) to summon a normal, ordinary man (Jimmy Stewart) because she has grown bored of the extraordinary. Romance and hilarity ensue. The holiday is incidental.
Iron Man 3 is set around Christmas. It’s written by Shane Black who will often set his movies around Christmas (Lethal Weapon is another example).
ETA: I disagree with the above about Trains, Planes and Automobiles. Trying to get home in time for the holiday gives him agency to have to get home fast. Otherwise what is an extra day? Plus it’s a busy travel day making his journey all the harder. It also plays into the theme of family. It could have been any major holiday I suppose but Thanksgiving is a perfect choice.
This hadn’t really occurred to me until you mentioned it. Black’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), which we re-watched over the weekend, is another example.
First off, my nomination for the thread:The Lion in Winter. It’s one of my favorite Christmas movies, and Christmas does play a part in the plot, but it could have been set at any time, really, with some other excuse for the queen being temporarily on parole. And it certainly doesn’t feel like a typical Christmas movie.
Well that helps explain it. I was bothered when I saw it that it was basically a Christmas movie, but was released during the summer. I think it would have been a lot more fun to see in theaters during th Christmas season.
Were most of the movies in this thread released during Christmas, or are there more summer movies set at Christmas than I’d realized?
It does indeed, and it’s yet another Shane Black production. The Nice Guys is also set during Christmas. This Entertainment Weekly article has a quote from Black that explains his thinking. (Also, apparently Three Days of the Condor is set during Christmas; it’s been too long since I’ve seen it to recall.)
Jurassic World was released on June 12, 2015 (so about ten days before the summer solstice) in the USA. The kids are put on a plane to the title park during the Christmas season, but the holiday doesn’t really drive the plot in any way.
I, the Jury (starring Armand Assante) has a scene where a homicidal maniac (whom the villain uses to “remove” loose ends) places Mike Hammer’s secretary/girlfriend in peril. Among other things, he ties her to a chair with a string of Christmas lights.
Problem is, I’m not sure if the lights are there because it’s Christmas time, or because Mike and Velma are a bit cavalier about office decorating. And I’m not in a position to screen the movie at this time.
In “The French Connection” the first time you see Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman) he is working as a Santa Claus on a street running a bell for contributions. When he starts having a bunch of nearby kids sing “Jingle Bells” it’s a signal for his partner Cloudy Russo (Roy Scheider), working as a street food peddler, that their suspect has entered the bar and for him to go after him.